Rita expected to make landfall at dawn

The National Weather Service said the core of Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall as a category 3 hurricane near daybreak along the southwest Louisiana and upper Texas coasts.

On Friday at 7 p.m., the hurricane was about 95 miles southeast of Sabine Pass, along the coast at the border between Texas and Louisiana. A hurricane warning is in effect from Sargent, Texas, to Morgan City.

Sustained Hurricane force winds of 120 and higher gusts extended 85 miles from the core of the storm and tropical storm force winds extended 205 miles.

At 5 p.m., a buoy in Calcasieu Pass, near Cameron Parish, reported sustained winds of 49 mph with gusts to 62 mph. Sustained winds of 37 mph with gusts of 54 mph were reported at Galveston, Texas.

Coastal storm surge flooding was 15 feet above normal. Tides are about 2 feet above normal along Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Tides in those areas area expected to increase 4 to 6 feet.

Rita is expected to produce rainfall of 8 to 12 inches with isolated rainfall amounts of up to 20 inches over southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Over the next several days, Rita is expected to stall over Texas and Arkansas and could produce more than 25 inches of rain.